Shoe and method of making the same



Sept. 3, 1935. K. ENGEL 2,013,341

SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Oct. 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l vim/70m Se t. 3,' 1935. ENGEL I 2,013,341

SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Oct. 1, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 ii iraiA'l'ES *hATiEN-i' @FF i-QE Karl Engel, Lynn, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 1, 1932, Serial No. "635,798

14 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of preparing shoe parts for adhesive attachment toother shoe parts and it relates also to improvements in shoes and shoe parts as articles of manufacture. In its method aspect the invention is herein exemplified iniits application to the preparing of the overla'sted margins of shoe uppers for the attachment of soles thereto by means of pyroxYlincement.

InJthe-manufactureof shoes of the typein which the outsole is secured to the shoe by means of cement it is common practice to prepare the overlas'ted upper margins, as well as the margins of the outsoles, by roughing the surfaces which are to besecured together and thus to facilitate the a'dhesion of the cement to those surfaces.

In the case of shoes the uppers of which are made of thin, delicate leather such, for example, as light, soft kid leather, care must .be taken not to conduct the rouging operation so vigorously as to weaken the overlasted margin of the upper tosuch a degree as to create danger that it will give way during the wearing of the shoe. It is, 'therefore,-customary to employ skilled help for this operation.

It is an object of the present invention to providea method of preparing shoe parts, particularly shoe uppers of soft or weak material, for cement attachment to other shoe parts, for example soles, which may be safely practiced by operators not possessing a high degree of skilland yet which will produce satisfactory results withoutendangering the quality of the finalproduct.

With the foregoing in view, the present invention provides an improved method of preparing shoe parts for cement attachment to other shoe parts which, in one aspect, comprises roughing the surface of a shoe part only at closely and uniformly spaced localities, so as to 'leavea narrow unroughened area between each two adjacent roughened areas. In this manner a sufficient amount of the surface of an overlas'ted uppermay be roughened to provide for a sufficiently secure attachment of a sole thereto while leaving substantially untouched'by'the roughing tool enough ro'f the'upperto'retain sufiicient strength ito insure the desired durability in'the finished shoe. Furthermore, in the attachment of shoe'soles to shoe uppers the overlasted'margins of which have been prepared as above described, much of thecement which'is employed between the soles and the uppers will be forced from the upstanding unroughened areas in .the upper margins :into the shallowzdepressions' formed by the .roughenedareas with the result that in the finished shoe :the

improved method and illustrating the manner band of cement will be broken up, or at least made substantiallythinner, at closely spaced intervals in such a manner as to insure a desired amount of flexibility in the shoe bottom. Inasmuch as it is desirable to have the shoe bottom "5 freely flexible along lines-substantially parallel to the *ball line, the roughened areas, and consequently the relatively thin portions of theband-of cement, as herein shown extend also in that relation to the ball line. Asshown also-this particular type'of roughing is confined'to that portion of the "forepart-of the shoe -bottom which is located forwardly of the ball line and rearwardly-of the 'toe portion, that being the portionof the shoe bottom where flexure is desired. 'I he toe and shank portions of the shoe bottom'are shown as having been roughened in the usual manner inasmuch as 'nosubstantialamount of flexure is-desirable in those portions.

Considered in another aspect, invention is to be recognized as residing also in a novel article of manufacture comprising a shoe part having a series-of separated roughened areas evenly distributed along a portion to be attached adhesively to another shoe part.

The invention further comprises a shoe having overlasted upper margins provided with alternately disposed roughened and unroughened areas, a tread sole, and -a bandof cement securing the tread sole to the overlasted uppermargins and comprising relatively thick portions overlying the roughened areas of the upper margins and relatively thin portions overlying the :unroughened areas-of the upper margins.

The invention will be explained with reference tothe accompanying "drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevationalview of a roughing device adapted for-use in roughing the overlasted margins of a shoe upper in accordance 'with my in which a shoe may be presented thereto to effect the roughing of the upper margin at one side of the forepart of the shoe;

:Fig. 2 is .a sectional view taken substantially .along the line lL-JI of Fig. l; 45

-Fig.-3 is a plan view'of the bottom of a shoe in which those portions of the overlasted upper imargins which are located forwardly of the ball lineand rearwardly of the toe have been rough- :enedin a manner to-produce alternately disposed roughened and 'unroughened areas or stripes extending transversely with respect to the edge of the .shoezbottom and in which those portions of the upper :margins .at the 'toe and shank portions of the shoe have been roughened in the usual manner;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View on a large scale taken along the line IV--IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the appearance of the roughened upper margin after a coating of cement has been applied thereto; and

' Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the overlasted margins of the upper materials of a shoe having an outsole adhesively secured thereto.

Referring to the drawings, a roughing device II] is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as operating upon the bottom of a shoe E2, to prepare the overlasted margins of the upper in the forepart of the shoe bottom to receive an adhesive, such as pyroxylin cement, for attaching a tread sole to the shoe. The shoe I2 is mounted upon alast M and comprises an upper IS, an upper lining I3, and an insole 20. The margins of the upper I6 and the lining I8 at the bottom of the shoe are lasted over the insole as indicated at 22 in Figs. 2 and 3. The illustrated roughing device Hi comprises a plurality of disk-shaped brush units 24, each consisting of a hub 26 (Fig. 2) and a multiplicity of wire bristles 28 which extend radially from the hub. The' hubs of the several brush units are assembled side-byside upon a horizontal shaft 30 and are spaced apart by means of washers 32, so that the roughing device when rotated will operate to form, upon a piece of work presented thereto, a series of roughened areas or stripes such as those shown at 34 in Figs. 3 and 4, the areas 34 alternating with unroughened areas such as those indicated at 36. The shaft til is formed with reduced ends which are journaled in bearings 38 and is adapted to be rotated by means of a belt (not shown) which passes over a pulley Hi pinned to the shaft and is connected with a suitable source of power. As shown, the brush units 2 3 and the spacing washers 32 are clamped between the pulley 40 and a collar 42 which is secured on the shaft.

Preferably the width of the roughing device I0 is such that the roughing of the upper margins at one side of a shoe may be performed simultaneously from a point near the ball line, indicated at 46 in Fig. 3, to a point spaced somewhat rearwardly from the toe so as to be located, for example, approximately in line with the rear edge of a toe stiffener of the type customarily employed, as indicated by the line 44. Suitable gaging means may be advantageously employed to limit the depth of the roughing and to determine the location of the outer edges of the rough-' ened areas 36, and suitable provision may be made for adjusting the gaging means to vary, within predetermined limits, both the depth of the roughing and the location of the outer extremities of the roughened areas 34.

The gaging means herein shown comprises a series of gage teeth 50 which project downwardly from a horizontally disposed crossbar 52. The gage teeth 50 are arranged in side-by-side relation like the teeth of a comb and they are so spaced and located that one tooth extends between each pair of brush units 24. The teeth 50 are provided with substantially straight edges 54 (Fig. 2)' for engaging the bottom of a shoe to determine the angle at which the shoe bottom is presented to the roughing means and to gage the depth to which the overlasted upper margins are to bepenetrated by the roughing means. At their upper extremities the straight edges 54 of the gage teeth merge into curved edge portions 56 shaped to conform substantially to the transverse curvature of the lateral edges of the shoe bottom where the upper i'sturned inwardly'over the edge of the insole. The curved edge portions 56 of the gage teeth 50 function, by engagement with the lateral edges of the shoe bottom above described, to determine the locations of the outer extremities of the roughened areas 3% and to insure that they shall not extend into the portion of the upper which is exposed in the finished shoe. The crossbar 52 which carries the gage teeth 50 is supported at its opposite ends by means of arms 58 which are pivotally connected at 60 to the frame members in which the shaft bearings 38 are formed. As shown, the axis of the pivotal connections 5E3 is eccentric, with respect to the shaft 3B and so located that by swinging the crossbar 52 upwardly or downwardly about the axis 60 the gage teeth 58 will be adjusted toward or from the shaft 38 to vary the depth of the roughing of the shoe bottom. The gage teeth are maintained in any desired position of adjustment by means of screws 62 and 64 arranged to engage respectively the upper and lower sides of one of the arms 58. The screws 62 and 64 extend through lugs 66 and ('53 on the frame member in which the left-hand shaft bearing 38 is formed and the screws are adapted to be locked against turning by means of nuts l0 and i2.

As shown in Fig. 1, the curved edge portions 56 of the gage teeth 58 are so located that, when viewed from the front of the machine, they are disposed in a curve which corresponds in general to the lateral edge curve of the portion of the shoe bottom at the forepart of a shoe to be roughened. As a matter of fact the curves defining the opposite lateral edges of the forepart of a shoe bottom differ slightly in contour in most shoes and, inasmuch as the curved edge portions 56 of the gage teeth must engage first the lateral edge curve of the shoe bottom at one side of the shoe and thereafter the lateral edge curve of the shoe bottom at the opposite side of the shoe, the line of curvature of the several edge portions 56 defines a curve which is intermediate between that of the opposite lateral edges of the shoe bottom. Thus, the curvature of these edge portions 55 is such as to fit equally well the lateral edge curvature of either side of'the shoe bottom.

It will be seen that a roughing device such as the above-described device H3 will operate to roughen the surface of a shoe part, for example an overlasted upper, only in separated portions, so as to leave unroughened areas between adjacent roughened areas. In the practice of this method of roughing, as applied to'a shoe upper, the rough-ened areas 34 provide for the secure attachment of the sole to the upper while the pres; ence of the unroughened areas strengthens the upper margins sufficiently to prevent them from giving way during the wearing of the shoe.

In the use of a roughing device, such as the device It), the shoe should preferably be so held and presented to the device that the roughened areas 34 and the unroughened areas (iii will ex tend in directions substantially normal to the edge of the shoe bottom and substantially parallel to the ball line of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 3. After being operated upon the shoe upper margins are left of maximum thickness where the unroughened areas 33 are located but are reduced more or less in thickness where the roughened areas 3 3 :are located so that shallow depressions are formed in the latter locations.

At the shank and :toe portions of theshoe bottom the upper margins may be roughened, .as indicated at M in Fig. 3, in any usual and wellknownmannerby means, for example, of an ordinary wire roughing brush or other suitable implement not herein shown.

After the upper margins have been operated upon as described they are coated with cement, as indicated at 76 in Fig. 5, and thereafter an outsole '58 (Fig. 6) is laid and held under pressure in a suitable press in accordance with the customary procedure. As illustrated, the pressure applied to the outsole results in displacing much of the cement from the raised and unroughened areas 36 into the shallow depressions formed by the roughened areas a l, thereby more or less breaking up the continuity of the band of cement, or at least thinning it substantially at regularly spaced localities in a manner to insure a desired amount of flexibility in the bottom of the finished shoe. Inasmuch as the continuity of the band of cement is broken up along lines extending in directions substantially normal to the edge of the shoe bottom and substantially parallel to the ball line in the area just forward of the latter, it will be seen that the shoe bottom will be rendered capable of flexing along those lines and in that area, thus best adapting the shoe to conform to the flexure of the foot in walking. The sole, of course, will be more securely bonded to the upper in the 10- calities where the upper has been roughened and, inasmuch as those localities are closely and umformly spaced, the effect produced when looking at the edge of the sole is much the same as it would be if the sole were stitched instead of cemerited to the upper. This simulation of a stitched sole is believed to be advantageous inasmuch as it relieves the flatness of the joint between the sole and the upper and adds a certain amount of character and style to the shoe.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of preparing shoe parts for adhesive attachment to other shoe parts which comprises making upon the surface of a shoe part a multiplicity of roughened areas, each of substantial width, said areas being closely and uniformly spaced so as to leave a narrow unroughened area between each two adjacent roughened areas.

2. That improvement in methods of roughing the overlasted margins of shoe uppers which comprises roughing a portion of the margin of a shoe upper only at closely adjacent localities separated lengthwise of the shoe and elongated widthwise of the shoe.

3. That improvement in methods of roughing the overlasted margins of shoe uppers which comprises roughing a portion of the margin of a shoe upper only at localities uniformly spaced apart lengthwise of the shoe at the forepart of the shoe bottom.

4. That improvement in methods of roughing the overlasted margins of shoe uppers which comprises roughing an upper margin only at closely adjacent localities separated lengthwise of the shoe at the forepart of the shoe bottom, and forming continuously roughened surf-aces upon the upper margins at the toe and shank portions of the shoe bottom.

5. That improvement in methods of roughing the overlasted margins of shoe uppers which comprises roughing an upper margin only at closely adjacent localities separated lengthwise of the shoe and elongated widthwise of the shoe .in directions substantially "parallel to the ball line.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in roughing the overlasted margins of a shoe upper only at closely adjacent and uniformly separated localities so as to leave an unroughened area between each of said closely adjacent roughened areas, applying a coating of cement to the upper margin, laying a tread sole, and pressing the margins of the tread sole against the overlasted margins of the upper to displace the cement substantially from between the tread sole and the unroughened areas of the upper margins and to concentrate it in the localities between the tread sole and the roughened areas of the upper margins.

7. A shoe part having a series of separated roughened areas evenly distributed along a portion to be adhesively attached to another shoe part.

8. A shoe upper having its margin roughened only in closely adjacent localities spaced apart lengthwise of the upper margin and elongated widthwise of the latter along the portion thereof which is to be located at the forepart of the shoe.

9. A shoe upper having a series of alternately disposed and regularly spaced roughened and unroughened areas extending transversely with respect to the edge of the upper along a marginal portion to which a sole is to be adhesively attached.

10. A step product comprising a shoe having upper margins lasted over an innersole, the overlasted upper margins having a series of alternately disposed roughened and unroughened areas extending transversely with respect to the edge of the shoe bottom, said alternately disposed areas being confined to the portion of the shoe bottom located forward of the ball line and rearward of the toe portion of the shoe.

11. A step product comprising a shoe having upper margins lasted over an innersole, the overlasted upper margins having a series of alternately disposed roughened and unroughened areas extending transversely with respect to the edge of the shoe bottom, said alternately 0 disposed areas being confined to the portion of the shoe bottom located forward of the ball line and rearward of the toe portion of the shoe and having uninterrupted roughened areas extending along the toe and shank portions of the shoe bottom.

12. In a shoe having overlasted upper margins, a series of narrow, alternately disposed roughened and unroughened areas in the upper margins extending widthwise of the latter, a tread sole, and a band of cement for securing the tread sole to the overlasted upper margins comprising relatively thick portions overlying said roughened areas and relatively thin portions overlying said unroughened areas of the upper margins.

13. In a shoe having overlasted upper margins, a series of alternately disposed roughened and unroughened areas extending transversely of said margins along the portion between the toe and the shank of the shoe, continuous roughened surfaces extending around the toe and along the shank portions of the upper margins, and a tread sole, secured to said upper margins by an interposed band of cement of substantially uniupper and the sole for securing them together, said band comprising alternate, narrow, relatively thick and thin portions of cement extending substantially at right angles to the periphery of the shoe.

' KARL ENGEL. 

